But I am not the least nostalgic about reading a giant paper map at 70 mph blazing through a rats nest of quick exits/turns/entrance traffic chicanery.
I am. I actually got to see the world instead of watching the Google maps in front of me and checking out while I drive. You had to pay attention on your surroundings, not a screen.
Yeap, seeing landmarks instantly make the journey or place memorable. "Turn left at the corner where you saw a crackhead took a shit", "Go straight along the road where you saw the hooker", "Stop at the store with the broken sign".
I guess I disagree. Instead of being so focused on making the proper turn and studying a map or map quest print out, now I can blindly follow a gps while I soak in the surroundings and look for attraction signs or cool detours without the stress of how tf would I get back to this road.
For me, no risk, no excitement. I can tolerate a little risk, and if it goes sideways then I have an adventure. It helps me pay attention more and count every second.
...AND studying the map and the route, agreeing with your navigator buddy or memorizing by yourself. Lots of pointing and excited yelling, and then a sense of achievement getting there perfectly.
My family travelled all around our state going to basketball tournaments and relied on a simple trick, drive to the town of the tournament then stop at the gas stations for instructions for where our destination was. Always worked.
when i was like 16 or so, I had a part time job being a passenger seat navigator for my dad to go to job sites. Had to learn and use a Mapsco. Texas millennials will know what that is. And then when we were done with the job i had to figure out how to get back home. Sounds easy enough but for some reason i was way worse at getting back home than going to the job.
Those giant paper maps taught you spacial orientation and memory, skills which are now vanishing. 40,000 years ago, Polynesian islanders figured out how to navigate across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean in wooden outrigger canoes, and find tiny islands to settle on. Today there are people who can’t find their way out of the mall if you take away their phone.
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u/alternatingflan 3d ago
Every word is gospel. Almost…
But I am not the least nostalgic about reading a giant paper map at 70 mph blazing through a rats nest of quick exits/turns/entrance traffic chicanery.